


Another Life

by DaireneCallahan



Category: Halo (Video Games) & Related Fandoms
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-26
Updated: 2020-03-26
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:14:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23330737
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DaireneCallahan/pseuds/DaireneCallahan
Summary: I've watched Halo Legends: Homecoming many times over the years, and every time Daisy's story made me cry. I'd always wanted to give Daisy a happier ending, or at least a shot at a normal life.The fact that, even 8 years in Spartan training, the fact that Daisy and the other Spartans who fled still hadn't forgotten their home, still hadn't given up was... heartbreaking. They...tried to go back, to a world that had no place left for them.In the end, I’d like to think that Ralph-103 found a happy life… according to background material, after he killed his clone and was recaptured, he broke down mentally, and ended up being discharged for being psychologically unstable.  He was adopted and Halsey’s reports said he transitioned to civilian life reasonably well, all things (his mental issues) considered.  When the Covenant War broke out, he joined the UNSC Marines, and was eventually tragically killed in the same battle where he was briefly reunited with Daisy-023, both of them perishing in that battle.So I wondered what would have happened if something similar happened to Daisy?  If she hadn’t been able to reintegrate back into the Spartans?





	Another Life

UNSC Resettlement Habitat 15, planet Sargasso, Year 2554 CE...

The voice on the radio stated, "...even as the investigation into the terrorist attack on the Spartan training station this March continues, the UNSC yesterday carried out a series of strikes on insurrectionist holdouts on Lisbeth III. In other news, the reports suggest that fighting on Draetheus V has reached a stalemate, as UNSC forces have halted the Covenant's advance..."

A hand reached out and shut off the radio. The news only served to remind her of the horrible fighting she'd barely survived against the Covenant on Lilongwe II years prior. After all, while Humanity was no longer on the brink of utter destruction, it seemed the galaxy was no less safer from numerous threats… but there was no point worrying about it more than necessary.

Daisy Louisse yawned as she stepped out of her makeshift shelter in Habitat 15. She still had several hours before she had to go to the spaceport to pick her daughter, who was coming back from for summer break after her first year at college. Tia attended the University of New Carthage, one of the few Inner Colonies colleges to reopen in the years since the Covenant War ended.

"Oh, hey, Daisy!" Her neighbor, Jabitha, greeted, as she came out to water her plants. "It's a surprise to see you around this time! You didn't go see your parents?"

"Oh no, Tia is coming home today, so I plan on picking her up first before going to see my parents together," Daisy laughed. "But I guess I should probably get going- you know how traffic around the spaceport is."

Jabitha chuckled. "Very true. Well, I won't keep you- don't want to keep your daughter waiting!"

Daisy got into her car, and drove toward the spaceport. "If only Archie could have seen our little Tia all grown up," She whispered, and felt a tear run down from the corner of her eye. Her husband, Archibald Louisse, had been killed in action on Reach- and he'd only been a poor engineer. A kind, delicate soul- Daisy shuddered to think how frightened he might've been when the Covenant hit.

Daisy had nearly perished herself in the war, fighting as a Marine on Lilongwe II. Her unit had taken heavy losses, and were surrounded and cut off by Covie forces. Then abruptly, it all changed- as if diverted by something, the Covenant lines broke and fell back, allowing their unit to successfully evacuate by the skin of their teeth. She later learned that a unit of Spartan-IIs had intervened and diverted the Covenant's attention.

If only Ralph had been so lucky… her poor friend Ralph hadn't been so lucky- he'd been fighting on Ambrosia, when his Pelican had been shot down by damned Covie forces. Daisy was lucky that she had a chance to meet one last time as Marines when they were both stationed on Ulant.

"I wonder… what if I'd stayed a Spartan?" She muttered. "Would I… still be alive? Would… more of them survived? Would… Archie, Ralph somehow still be alive? What… would've my life been like?"

She shook the thoughts away. "No, forget it- they forced us, tortured us… Ralph, me, Joseph… we all ran away for a reason. There's nothing to dwell on."

Still, nine whole years of her life was not something that could be waved away. True, that had brutally stolen her childhood, torn her from her family, subject her to horrifically-painful augmentation, but she felt some sort of kinship with her fellow Spartan trainees, and it… hurt knowing she was unlikely to see any of them again.

And for what it was worth, the training and augmentation served her well when the Covenant invaded, and she enlisted in the Marines to protect what she could of her family and home. And perhaps those might serve her again- she knew if anyone dared to threaten Tia or her parents, she would crush them without mercy.

Not to mention… it wasn't entirely her choice to leave, not entirely. After she'd found out about what the flash clone that had been created to replace her, she'd suffered mental breakdowns for months. It would alternate between bursts of berserk rage and needing to be put down by force to bouts of depression and catatonia. After months of futile rehabilitation and an incident where she brutally killed three instructors, Halsey had deemed her inoperable, and had her discharged for psychological reasons.

She had been transferred to a civilian school, but her mental state was far from stable, and she required persistent therapy. That was also where she met Archie, who was undergoing treatment for his own issues- his father had joined an insurrectionist group and been killed by UNSC forces, and when his mother found out, she committed suicide in grief. Though their situations were vastly different, the two found a sort of kinship in their loneliness. Before she knew it, they were dating. Her emotional instability did cause friction between them from time to time, but he was quiet and patient, and they always managed to work things out.

Ralph had asked her if she ever regretted leaving the Spartans… she wondered if it was more for her or his own benefit. She supposed she would never know now. "No," Daisy whispered. "I'll never regret that choice. If I'd stayed with the Spartans, I'll never have met Archie, I'd never had Tia, and I'd never have had a shot at a normal life...

...and I'd never have seen my parents again." She could still remember the shock and disbelief when she approached them after the War ended, though Daisy made them vow to silence. They were enraged, of course, learning about what was done with their real daughter, and the flash clone replacement, but Daisy pleaded with them not to give ONI an excuse to take away what they had now.

And it was because of them that Daisy decided to join them as part of the first group of civilian re-settlers returning to Sargasso, taking Tia with her. Archie was gone by that point, and the home they'd built together on Mindan had been reduced to ash (or glass) in the war.

Daisy parked her car in the parking lot, and entered the arrivals hall of the spaceport. She quickly checked the arrivals board. "Let's see, the Moscow… ah, earlier than expected!"

"Mother!" A delighted cry from a familiar voice rang out.

Daisy turned to see Tia hurrying over, dragging her suitcase.

"Come give mommy a hug!" Daisy embraced her daughter.

Tia turned red briefly in embarrassment at being hugged in such a manner, but decided to abide by it. There was no deterring Daisy when she wanted to do something, and Tia knew that all too well.

Yes, Daisy thought. There's nothing to regret.


End file.
